Men's Cross Country

Ferris State Cross Country Teams Take Part In NCAA Midwest Regional Saturday

Nov 04, 2016

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University men's and women's cross country teams will compete in the 2016 NCAA Division II Midwest Region Cross Country Championships being held this Saturday (Nov. 5) at the Angel Mounds in Evansville, Ind.

This is the thirdconsecutive year that Southern Indiana and the Evansville Sports Corporation have teamed up to host the NCAA II Midwest Region Championships at Angel Mounds. The NCAA II National Championships will also be at Angel Mounds in 2017.

The Midwest Region consists of teams from the Great Lakes Valley Conference, the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, and the Great Midwest Athletic Conference. Around 30 teams and more than 200 student athletes are expected to compete in each race.

A total of 11 teams enter Saturday's races ranked in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches' Association Top 25 polls; six in the women's race and five in the men's race.

The men's 10K race will start at 11:30 a.m. (ET) with the women's 6K to follow at approximately 12:45 p.m. (ET).

The top five men's teams from each race in the regional will advance to the NCAA II National Championships, which are Nov. 19 in St. Leo, Fla. In addition to the qualifying teams, the top three individuals that are not on a qualifying team will advance to the national meet. Qualifying individuals also include any competitors in the top five that are not on a qualifying team.

Three years ago, the Bulldog men's team qualified for nationals for the second consecutive year on the heels of its 2012 appearance, which was the program's first since 1985. FSU went on to place 10th at the NCAA Division II National Championships after advancing out of the regional. The Bulldogs placed seventh in regional action in 2014.

Meanwhile, the women's team has qualified for the NCAA-II Nationals five times in the last eight years following strong performances at the Midwest Regional.

The Ferris State men's and women's cross country teams are guided this fall by former Bulldog standout and local native Jared Kelsh, who is in his third season as the head coach.